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EEOC Issues Updated Guidance On Religious Discrimination

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
12/08/2020
Agency Activity, EEOC, Reasonable Accommodations/Undue Burden, Religious Discrimination, Uncategorized
Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published a new update to its 2008 guidance on religious discrimination in the workplace.  Recognizing the "altered legal landscape" that has transpired in the last 12 years, the agency issued a modernized version of its guidance that covers employer obligations and employee rights.  Specifically, the guidance addresses: Coverage, including when a particular religious practice or...
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DOL Issues Guidance On Federal Contractor Diversity Training

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
10/13/2020
Agency Activity, OFCCP
On September 22, President Trump issued Executive Order 13950, which states that United States policy is “not to promote race or sex stereotyping of scapegoating.”  The Order prohibits federal contractors from training employees in a manner that promotes race and sex stereotyping or scapegoating. Last week, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP) issued answers to FAQs concerning what E.O. 13950 permits and...
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EEOC Proposing To Share More Details With Employers During The Conciliation Process

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
10/09/2020
Agency Activity, EEOC
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a newly proposed Rule that would alter the conciliation process, which the EEOC uses as a method of alternative dispute resolution with employers that have had a finding of "reasonable cause" issued against them at the conclusion of the EEOC's investigation.  Conciliation is technically a voluntary alternative to litigation after the agency has determined, based upon its investigation,...
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EEOC Opinion Letter Presents New Interpretation Of Its Authority To Sue Employers For Systemic Discrimination

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
09/30/2020
Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination
On September 3rd, the EEOC issued an opinion letter that reversed course on its authority under Section 707 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to initiate discrimination actions against employers.  The EEOC concluded it does not have the power to sue employers for discriminatory workplace practices without first complying with other procedural steps.  The opinion letter answered two questions: 1) does a pattern or practice claim...
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DOL Proposes New Independent Contractor Rule

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
09/22/2020
Agency Activity, Independent Contractors
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced on September 21, 2020 a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that re-defines “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as it relates to independent contractors.  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/2020-independent-contractor-nprm.  The  NPRM is available for review and public comment for 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The issue of who qualifies as...
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In Its Own Backyard: EEOC Must Confront Discrimination Lawsuit by Former Attorney

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
09/21/2020
Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination
Those of us who deal with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on a regular basis sometimes lose track of the fact that it, like the folks we represent as management attorneys, is an employer too.  And, it is subject to many of the same anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation legal requirements as the employers it investigates.  A recent decision from the D.C. Circuit shows that even the EEOC is sometimes required to explain its actions...
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EEOC Sues Kroger For Failure to Accommodate Religious Objectors to Rainbow Logo

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
09/17/2020
Agency Activity, Religious Discrimination
We've heard a lot about LGBTQ issues in the workplace this year, including the Supreme Court's landmark June ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County.  However, a  September 14, 2020 lawsuit filed by the EEOC against Kroger in Arkansas raises a different workplace issue relating to the LGBTQ community: does an employer have to accommodate the religious beliefs of employees who believe LGBTQ practices violate their sincerely held religious...
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DOL Issues Revised FFCRA Regulations

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
09/15/2020
Agency Activity, COVID-19
On September 11th, the U.S. Department of Labor issued revised regulations on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The new regulations are a response to an  August 3, 2020 decision from a New York federal court finding that DOL's interpretation of the FFCRA excluded too many health care workers from the Act's coverage. The court also  struck down a provision that allows employers to deny leave when they don't have work available,...
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Maryland’s Mini-WARN Act: Will You Be In Compliance?

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
09/10/2020
Agency Activity, State Law, WARN
Earlier this week, I blogged about several employment laws scheduled to take effect October 1.  Among them is HB1018/SB0780, which significantly changes the State’s Economic Stabilization Act, Maryland’s version of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.  For readers who are unfamiliar with the Economic Stabilization Act (the Act), it applies to businesses employing 50 or more individuals and doing business in...
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OSHA Updates and Removes Guidance From Its COVID-19 FAQs

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
08/04/2020
Agency Activity, COVID-19, Workplace Safety
As an increasing number of states, local governments, and private employers are mandating that employees, particularly those who work indoors and in close proximity to other employees, wear masks covering the mouth and nose to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, last Friday, OSHA updated its frequently asked COVID-19 questions and answers.  As to wearing cloth masks, OSHA stated unequivocally that workers who wear cloth masks to prevent...
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